Geneva Market (Chicago, Wheaton: days on market, short sales, real estate)

[chicagoRE]

Can anyone tell me how the Geneva housing market has fared over the last 3 or so years? Worse than say Wheaton for example? Thoughts on if they are anywhere near the bottom for pricing?

I know this is specultaion but curious on what others are thinking.....

[chet everett]

Numerically the total sales inside Geneva, the geographic spread of the incorporated limits of Geneva and the range of property prices are all larger than Wheaton. That makes any comparison hard to "normalize".

The lowest priced homes in Wheaton tend to have more negatives than those in Geneva, which would tend to suggest that Wheaton remains a bit more resilient. OTOH the proceed homes in both areas tend to have similar "days on market" which is a traditional meshed of desirsability / market inflection points...

Regionally the distance from Geneva to other employment centers is farther than that of Wheaton, and if gasoline prices have any importance that ought to suggest Geneva will see mor price pressure...


Foreclosures are not as numerous in either Geneva or Wheaton are not as numerous as those in other towns that were more "boom" oriented.

As the spring market picks up some trends may become clearer, but honestly for folks looking across broad categories of housing either Wheaton or Geneva offer some nice values along with a host of pluses. If you currently are renting in the area it is certainly worth checking available listings. If the your housing dollar will go further as an owner than a renter it would be silly to go on waiting for some mythical bottom. Of course if you are happy with where ever you are leasing and purchasing will take a bigger chunk out of income then the "trends" matter less than your personal circumstances.

[chicagoRE]

We actually own in the city and will be listing soon and buying somewhere, not sure where at this point......I was just wondering how Geneva has held up because I know they have a lot of "newer" construction.

So we will take a hit here and hopefully make up for it wherever we end up.

[chet everett]

If you absolutely need to move you really have to be prepared. Prices may have flattened but odds of being in a situation to make a profit really depend on when you bought and how smart you were about the kind of home you purchased. If you bought new construction anytime after about 2006 things still look bleak. If that new construction was priced out with high end buyers in mind you might be looking at the kind of price reversal that still is in the six figure range...

The best advise is to start interviewing listing agent NOW and plan to list SOON. If you have not already de-cluttered and started to stage the house and put everything (including landscaping -- even townhouses in Chicago have to make a nice impression with their limited greenspace) in tip top shape do that YESTERDAY! Don't pick an agent just becuase their CMA suggests your home is worth a lot, consider whether you'll need an agent experienced in short sales, what sort of track record the agent has with recent sales in your price category, the responsiveness to your questions will be an indication of who reachable they will be to other agents / potential buyers...

While prices in Geneva and Wheaton have fallen, I would recommend not shopping until you know exactly how much you'll have to spend -- if you take a loss on existing house that can really force you to scale back...

You would be not be alone if you decide to move to the 'burbs from even a desirable part of Chicago. Some folks have decided that it makes sense for them to rent out their places in Chicago. Explore that option with caution. The difficulties of finding a good tenant that helps in covering one's obligations should not be underestimated.

[RightMove1]

Most of the "newer" homes (less than 10 years old) are west of Randall Road. If you start at the river and travel west, there are homes in every decade, starting from the 1890's. There is a large subdivision of about 500 homes, Eaglebrook, that has homes built in the mid '90's to 2000...and some of the homes south of the railroad are new because they bought "tear downs" and replaced with large homes, but overall there is a nice "spread" of good quality homes and stable neighborhoods.
I agree with Chet that the outlying areas took a larger "hit", and keep in mind, west of Randall Road, the construction will continue in the future, so that will be your competition on a future sale, and flatten prices a bit.

As a Real Estate Agent working in the Fox Valley Market, we see Geneva, certain neighborhoods, experiencing lower market times...one of the first indications of recovery. Also, low stock of foreclosures help.

In the end, will the house be your home? If you are looking for a lovely community to raise a family, Geneva and Wheaton have a lot in common: town center with shops that have survived the downturn, centered around the railroad station, historic homes near the center, bike and walking paths, and stable schools. I would say the value drop is similar, but Wheaton is 15 - 20 minute train commute closer to the city, so that supports higher prices to begin with.

[Vlajos]

I would expect Geneva to have been really hard hit and very little upside in the near term.